New Avengers #28

Title: New Avengers #28
Writer: BENDIS!
Artist: Leinil Yu
Colors: Dave McCaig


The new New Avengers. Re-assembled. Avenging. Or at least trying not to get their asses Negative Zoned by the Tin Man and his Avengers. I must say that of all the fertile ground the Marvel Civil War tilled (and there's oodles, don't let the shit-slingers decieve you) this is where the real action will take place. And BENDIS! gets to scribble both sides of the Avengers squabble. Its a unique position, one sodden in responsibility. Think Geoff Johns, the architect and Universe-shaper extraordinaire over at that other comics megaverse. BENDIS! has that kind of power here, and that kind of responsibility. Years down the line if Marvel becomes a joke you will have to look no further. But if things keep picking up steam as they are now we should be in for something truly special.

Look, I realize the events of New Avengers #28 are just foothills in what are sure to be some serious Kilimanjaros. But I've been reading a whole shit-ton of late 70's Claremont. If anyone mastered the comics equivalent of a long-take, it was him. Yet he was also very much a classicist. every issue, EVERY single one, no matter how embedded in whatever Pheonix/Jean Gray toe-licking adoration/glorification saga, every issue obeyed the set of "single issue comicbook rules" codified long before Claremont grabbed hold of the X-men. One of those 'unwritten' rules is that every issue has to have a villain, an enemy strong enough to feature on the cover putting Cyke and the folks (or whoever) in mortal peril. Because Chris knew that all comicbook readers are not adults, and that kids (as well as most adults) need to see an ass-kicking or three. some explosions. cars over-turned. thrown at people. Big fucking monsters from outer-space.

New Avengers #28 has this in spades. sort of. Because its not quite that cut and dry. The 'plot' of this issue involves the team fleeing from one potential horrific ass-kicking into the next. It is a 'framed' story with a flash-back nuggeted in the middle. We open in Japan where the Avengers Overseas crash at the Silver Samurai's pad after re-capturing Maya Lopez/Ronin/Echo from the Hand. Silver Samurai poses the central question of the issue: "Hey, just how the hell did a bunch of capes sneak out of the States to go save their pal in Japan?" That question is never completely answered. But it will be. It is the thematic equivalent of a teaser. enter flashback from a day ago, Avengers Stateside.

Spiderwoman gets some false intel regarding the apparent non-death of Cap. Avengers assemble, break into (onto?) the Raft in an attempt to save dear Steve. But it's a trick. of course it was. as transparent as Doc Strange's disembodied avatar-ghost thingie. The reader knows this. The Avengers themselves know this. But they have to make sure. Cap would make sure. So they fight through the typical disposable SHIELD grunts only to be trapped and confronted by the Stark, Sentry, et al. But before these two teams get to fisticuffs, the flashback ends preemptively. Because back in Japan first Wolverine, then Spidey senses that Elektra and a biblical plague of frogs-sized pack of ninjas are approaching. And that's where we're left, hanging, waiting for not one but two stories to be completed. So Claremont/late 70's X-men style we don't get the epic single issue battle, but we are presented with confrontation aplenty. Sorta half-assed, but not altogether unsatisfactory.

BENDIS!' dialogue is spot on. His characterisation is pleasing, Cage is obviously the leader, not through brains or raw power (I'm pretty sure Logan or either of the spiderpeople could strategically take Cage if forced to) but through old-fashioned heart. He is man people can get behind. Doc Strange is the deus ex machina mystical type

(BENDIS!: "Let's see I've painted myself into a corner here, just how the hell am I going to... I know! Doc Strange!" That's not entirely fair to the writer, but whatev. nothing but love.)

while Spidey and Logan play comic relief. Everyone is still waiting to find out who the new Ronin is, so he's mostly mum. Fist is there for coolness factor alone, and Spiderwoman, er, i dunno... she's there because otherwise there would be a severe lack of breastage for Leinil Yu to illustrate.

Speaking of Yu, I dig. His artwork is raw and 'pencily', veins bulge, ligaments in muscles protrude, noodles slurp, smoke obscures, spit flies. His Cage is particulary raw and impressive, and his Wolverine should be commended if for nothing else than for not being the eccentric and exaggerated versions that have cluttered Marvel's pages for years now. Logan is short and stumpy, his eyes small to non-existent, smoldering with napoleanic fury.

There's one last nerdy thing I must make mention of... let's call the forthcoming paragraph this review's epilogue. BENDIS! and Yu pay homage to two of the greatest figures in all of comics by gracing this issue with their two panel presence. However I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. These are all nerd-complaints, but how exactly would the Endless be tricked into believing one of Doc Strange's magical ruses? Is Strange that powerful? My colleague here at Cerberus says indeed he is, but I'm not so sure. Also, the speech bubbles of said cameo characters are rendered like everyone else's. But the balloons should different, befitting the speakers as they have always been dialogue-ed. Unless these two figures are just kids who happen to be dressed up. which is, i guess, a possibility. At least that is what Marvel will tell its lawyers to say come lawsuit time. Then again Gaiman is on the pay-roll now, so perhaps this is all fair game.

I rank the whole kit and caboodle a gimli, since the upcoming action will likely make this guy an overlooked diamond in the rough.